Nova Scotia was cold.
Sebastian hadn't expected it to be that cold. He blamed the weather charms at the Eldenarian Palace; he rarely felt anything besides the warm sun and cool, soothing breezes because of them. He had almost forgotten they were in the middle of winter.
Sighing, he shouldered his backpack of supplies.
So much had changed so quickly. Just a few months ago he was getting ready to be inducted into his father's sacred guild of knights in the Order. They had just had his ceremony for him. Before he was officially made a member, he had one final mission to complete:
Help exterminate the rest of House Lumai and retrieve the Illumio from Makaela and her housemates.
And he almost went through with it. Memories of standing in front of the portal gate in Castle Braexus with his Shade robes and silver eagle mask replayed in his mind. He was inches away from committing the same atrocities his family had been committing for over a decade. Inches away from ending the lives of innocents over a stupid ring.
A voice told him not to. He didn't know what it was then, and he didn't know what it was now. But he was grateful for it.
So, instead of joining his housemates, he went against them instead.
And now he was in Nova Scotia with a halfling and a werewolf to beg Arkangels for help.
It wasn't the ideal situation.
"This sucks," he grumbled, tightening his jacket tighter around himself as he trudged through the frigid forest. "I should've brought a bigger jacket."
The chill rattling through him made his ears feel like ice chips pressing against his head. Looking around, he saw nothing pine trees, massive boulders, and a narrow stream gurgling with clear water off to his right. Birds flew overhead in the white sky, cawing obnoxiously as they migrated south for the winter.
Lucky them.
They were truly free, able to go wherever their wings could take them. He envied them, for he was stuck on earth that was getting closer and closer to its final days—unless he and the rest of the council did something about it.
There was nothing he wouldn't give to be on a beach somewhere in the tropics soaking up some sun. Glancing down at his pale hands, he realized he definitely needed it.
If they made it out of the war with the Order in one piece, that's exactly what he would do.
"Being saviors of the world isn't all it's cracked up to be," he said while kicking a rock across the moss-covered ground.
Ahead of him, Dorian snorted.
Imogen simply rolled her eyes. "No one said it'd be glamorous, Seb." She smirked at him. "Don't tell me you're trying to give up?"
"Oh, please." He scoffed. "I'm not giving up."
"Good. Because that was never an option for you."
"Yeah, yeah."
He watched as she led them through the woods. Her hand was fixed firmly on the hilt of her weapon—a dragon iron dagger she received back in Hodvekt. It had been a while since he saw the blade in her hands. It suited her.
"Where even are we?" he asked.
Imogen looked up to the sky for a moment. "Point Pleasant Park."
Dorian tilted his head at her. "We're in Halifax?"
She nodded, her eyebrow quirked upward. "You've been to Nova Scotia?"
"Sort of," he answered. "I've been through here with the Redfangs once. Don't remember much, but I do remember being told to stay away from Point Pleasant Park."
"Weird," Imogen said. "I used to always come here after school as a kid."
Sebastian blinked rapidly as he realized something. "Wait a minute... We're in a park?" He scratched the top of his head. "I could've sworn we were in the woods."
Imogen stifled a laugh. "No, we're not in the woods." She pointed in front of her. The treeline was beginning to break, giving way to a stone path decorated with tall lamps, benches, and food stands. People in winter gear were strolling about with their children and pets.
Sebastian stiffened at the sight of so many Ordinaires.
"Should we be out in the open like this?" He glanced at Dorian. "I mean, this guy is a werewolf."
"I still look like a normal person, asshole."
"Those eyes of yours say otherwise."
Dorian's mouth twitched. His crimson eyes narrowed at the black-haired magician.
"We'll be fine," Imogen assured him. "Once we get into town, it'll be easy to blend in."
"Speaking of getting into town," Sebastian began, "What's our plan? We can't just roam the city looking for magician hunters. There has to be a way to get into contact with them."
Dorian nodded. "He's right."
"You two agreeing?" Imogen laughed. "Maybe there's hope for you after all."
The two boys exchanged equally unimpressed looks before reverting their stares to the girl.
"Let me think," Imogen eventually said.
The trio made it out the thicket of trees and onto the path full of people. A few passersby gave them strange looks as they emerged from the foliage, but most paid them no mind. Within moments of walking among the Ordinaires, they had completely blended in with the crowd.
Sebastian's shoulders relaxed.
Turning his head, he watched the icy Atlantic Ocean bending over the horizon far off in the distance. It seemed to go on forever; the end wasn't in sight. In a way, it reminded him of their current conflict with the Order of the Black Lotus.
He truly didn't see an end in sight.
His father was more powerful than ever. The Order's numbers grew by the day. And with that new undead army of his...
Sebastian had no idea how the war was going to end. He wasn't even confident they would win it. Something in the pit of his stomach told him to prepare for a lot more destruction. A lot more carnage.
A lot more death.
Beside him, he noticed Imogen's eyes perk up.
"What?" he asked.
"I might know of a way to get straight to the Arkangels."
Dorian peered at her over his shoulder. "Oh yeah? Enlighten us."
"I was never really close with my family when I lived out here," she started, "but I sort of connected with a cousin of mine after I moved from Nova Scotia to Montreal. I remember her working for the same 'company' that the rest of my cousins and uncles worked for. If I can get her to meet us, she can probably lead us to them."
"Or she'll stab you in the back and kill me and Sebastian," Dorian countered.
Sebastian grimaced at the thought. "I'll kill her before that happens."
Imogen urged them both to settle down. "Relax. From what I remember, she wasn't very murderous."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I don't see anyone else coming up with ideas."
Sebastian sighed. "Fine. Call your cousin."
"Anyone got a cellphone?" Dorian asked as he scanned the area with his crimson eyes.
Imogen quietly scolded him, as the werewolf was beginning to scare the people around them with his menacing glare. She tried smiling and telling them all that his eyes weren't actually the color of rubies, but it didn't seem to help.
Dorian being about six-foot-three, lean with muscle, decorated with the red marks of the Redfang clan, and wearing nothing but a pair of jeans they gave him back at the palace probably was helping.
Eventually, the trio was able to flag down a jogger to ask them for their phone. After some coaxing, the Ordiniare pulled out their cellphone and handed it to Imogen. The jogger stood before them awkwardly, directing their attention to the sky instead of the two sets of eyes on them.
"You guys have a serious staring problem," Imogen mumbled as she typed on the phone. She brought it to her ear and waited. After a few seconds, someone picked up. Sebastian could faintly hear them speaking on the other end.
Imogen's face lit up. "Autumn? Is that you?" A smile broke out across her face. "Yes, it's me, Imogen! Hey, I know this is super random, but you wouldn't happen to be in Halifax right now would you?"
Sebastian folded his arms as he watched her carry out her call. The jogger shifted their feet while shrinking under Dorian's stare.
"Er, I kind of need to be somewhere soon..."
Dorian narrowed his gaze at them. "Don't rush her."
"But it's my phone—"
"I said don't rush her."
Gulping, the jogger nodded and hung their head in shame.
Sebastian cracked a smile. Dorian did the same.
Bully Ordinaires was quite fun.
"Okay." Imogen hung up the phone and handed it back to the jogger. Smiling warmly, she handed it back to the jogger. "Thanks for the help. Have a great day."
"I'll try my best." After stuffing their cellphone into their pocket, they practically ran away from the trio standing in the middle of the park's wide walk path.
"Well?" Sebastian said. "Is your cousin here?"
Imogen nodded. "Yeah, actually. I was a little surprised. I didn't expect her to already be in Halifax. She says she can meet us at a diner nearby in an hour."
Sebastian huffed in reply. "Good. The sooner we can get out of here and back to the palace, the better."
"I'm with him," Dorian said as he looked around nervously. "I don't think these people like me very much."
Imogen rolled her eyes. "That's because you two bozo's keep staring at everyone. Do me a favor and try to act normal, would you?"
Dorian gave her a dirty look.
"Let's get to this diner," Sebastian said. "I want to get there early so we can scope out the place. It could be a trap."
"Why would it be a trap?"
"You never know with the Arkangels."
Imogen shook her head at him. "Whatever you say."
As the three of them made their way out of the park, Dorian licked his thick lips. A carnivorous glint had filled his eyes. Sebastian shot him a weird glance.
"You're, like, foaming at the mouth, dude."
"I am? Sorry. It's just...the prospect of eating some real food instead of that trash you guys were feeding me in the dungeons is making me hungry."
"You better be lucky we were feeding you at all."
"Right. How benevolent of you."
Imogen pushed between the two of them and breezed ahead. "And just when I thought you guys were making a breakthrough." She pointed up ahead where the street began. Cars whizzed by. Bicycles sped down bike paths as pedestrians crossed white-painted walkways. The seaside town of Halifax was bustling with people.
Sebastian unconsciously shrunk his shoulders, dropped his head, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Come on," Imogen said. "The diner's just up here."
"I can't wait to eat," Dorian grumbled while rubbing his bare stomach.
"We need to get him a shirt."
Sebastian shrugged. "That's not really high on my list of priorities."
"Of course it's not."
Laughing, he kept behind Imogen and Dorian as they wove their way through the midday traffic on their way to the meeting spot with Autumn the Arkangel.
#
Sebastian angrily circled his straw inside his runny strawberry milkshake.
"Ordinaires can't even make a milkshake right," as he begrudgingly took a sip of the watery mixture. Screwing his face, he pushed the glass across the table and slouched into the worn booth he and his group were sat at.
They had been waiting in the diner for over an hour. Imogen's cousin had yet to show.
"I thought you said she was coming."
"She is. Be patient."
Dorian didn't seem to mind the wait. He had already ordered three things off the menu and was getting ready to flag their waitress down to order another. Sebastian wasn't sure how they were going to pay for it all, seeing as how they didn't bring any money with them on their trip.
"Maybe she's lost," Dorian said with a mouthful of cheeseburger. He wiped the grease from his mouth before taking another monstrous bite. Both Sebastian and Imogen stared at him in horror.
"How can you eat you so much?" she asked him, bewildered.
Rolling his shoulders back, he leaned back into his seat. "Werewolves have ridiculously high metabolisms. It's a side-effect of our ability to shift forms. In order to keep up with it, we have to eat a lot. If not, shifting and maintaining our wolf form gets a lot harder."
Sebastian nodded slowly. "So if you starve a werewolf, they won't be able to shift."
He snorted. "Pretty much."
"Noted."
Dorian lifted his chin slightly. "Don't you even think about it, Thauvin."
He held his hands up innocently.
Imogen checked the time on an old-timey clock high on the wall across from their booth. It was nearing four o'clock and her contact had yet to show. Sebastian wasn't a fan of being stood up—especially by his enemies. It was even worse than being stood up for a date.
The least they could do was be on time.
"Looks like we'll need another course of action," Sebastian said with a deep sigh.
Imogen's shoulders drooped. Her face followed suit. "Sorry, guys. I honestly thought she'd show—"
The bell above the front door of the diner rang, the light noise piercing through the low music playing from a jukebox in the corner. Sebastian instinctively turned to see who just walked in.
A tall woman with light brown hair styled into a long braid, skin the color of porcelain, and eyes the color of the leaves on the trees outside. She wore a dark blue army jacket decorated with various patches. However, the largest had been sewn into her right shoulder. Sebastian sucked in a breath as he recognized the symbol—white wings coiled around a spear with a bold A in the background.
She stopped in front of the door, her head swiveling as she looked around.
Sebastian turned back to Imogen. "Is that her?"
Imogen mirrored his vision until her eyes landed on the woman at the door. She nodded quickly, her face brightening at the sight of her cousin. She shot up from the booth and beckoned the young woman over to them.
The woman, Autumn, caught notice of her and began making her way over to their booth. As she got closer, confusion spread across her face. "Er, who are they?"
"Them?" Imogen laughed nervously. "They're just my friends."
"Friends, huh." Autumn eyed Dorian with caution. "Interesting tattoos."
"They're tribal markings," he said proudly.
"I see," Autumn replied, her voice clipped. "I think I've seen those before somewhere..." She looked him up and down. "You're not Native American, are you? What tribe."
"I don't think you'd know them."
"Try me."
Dorian flashed her a weak smile before returning to his half-eaten cheeseburger.
Autumn turned her sights onto Sebastian. He stiffened, his hands lurking beneath the table just in case he needed to summon his vayrir. He kept his expression neutral and his posture firm. No sign of weakness. Nothing for her to take note of or exploit.
Just like his father taught him.
"And you are?"
"Sebastian."
"Right." Autumn faced her cousin and smiled. "Long time no see, cuzzo. Where you been? Your dad's been looking for you." Her smile withered until it resembled a thin, flat line. "We've all been looking for you?"
Imogen scowled. "Why's he looking for me? You know we don't live together anymore, right?"
"Yeah, well, he heard you got into some trouble at the precinct back in Montreal. We sent some guys out there but you were nowhere to be found." Autumn paused. "Some weird reports came out of that police station, though. Very weird..."
"This is the first I'm hearing about it," Imogen lied.
Sebastian sat there silently, his eyes bouncing between both girls as if he were watching a heated tennis match. He was half-expecting a referee to appear and start calling out points every time one of them stopped speaking.
"I see," Autumn replied. She leaned against the side of their booth, one hand creeping inside the pocket of her tan cargo pants. "So, what brings you to Halifax? You haven't been out here since...well, you know."
"You know, just visiting," Imogen said quickly. "But, while I was here, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions I had about the family business for me."
"Oh really?" Autumn's eyes lingered on Sebastian and Dorian for a moment. "What kind of questions?"
"Well, no one ever told me what we actually do."
"I'm sure your father told you something."
Imogen shook her head.
Autumn sighed. "We're hunters."
Sebastian's stomach churned. The normalcy in her tone made him squirm. How could she openly admit actively hunting other humans without blinking an eye?
"Hunters of what exactly? Deer? Elk?"
"I hear there's quite a few wild boar in this region this time of year," Dorian mumbled. Sebastian rolled his eyes.
Autumn see-sawed her hand. "Not quite." She lifted her brow at Imogen. "Why do you ask? You never seemed too interested before."
"Well, I'm interested now."
The girl snorted.
Sebastian tapped his fingers against the table and grit his teeth. The tension building around them was grating his nerves. He felt nervous energy pooling inside of him, threatening to spill out if they didn't get to the point.
Shaking his head, he realized they were getting nowhere with their needless posturing and beating around the bush. They needed to find the Arkangels and Autumn was going to lead his group straight to them.
He turned to the girl. "Look, we know what you are. We know what you do."
"Oh really?" She leaned in close to him. "What do I do then?"
Crinkling his nose, he inched away from her. "You're an Arkangel. You hunt down magicians and magical creatures."
She froze. Her hand flinched to her waist as her eyes widened. "How do you know that? Who are you?"
He resisted the urge to laugh in her face. Out the corner of his eye, he could see Dorian watching them intently.
"Sebastian..." Imogen warned.
"I got it," he replied under his breath. "We need your help. Well, not your help. We need the Arkangels."
"For what?"
"I'd prefer to tell your leader that. No offense."
Dorian shrugged. "I dunno, maybe she should take offense."
Grinning, Sebastian nodded. "You're right."
Disregarding the boys, Autumn looked to her cousin. "Okay, who are these people, Immy? They're not just your friends, so who are they? And I want the truth." Her hand tapped the knife holster strapped to her thigh.
Imogen gulped. Her face was quickly turning red. Sebastian spotted a few beads of sweet blooming against her temple.
"They are my friends," she argued. "Well, Sebastian is. I'm not so sure about Dorian yet."
"Gee, thanks."
Imogen ignored him and continued explaining. "A lot has happened since I left Canada. That's a story for another day. For now, we need to meet with your boss. The fate of the world is at stake."
Autumn stared at her for a few moments. She refused to blink, her green eyes silently calculating and processing. "How exactly is the world at stake?"
Sebastian slammed his hand onto the table. "We don't have time for this. Our enemies are getting stronger by the second. We're wasting time."
"Alright, slow down." She rubbed her temples. "Fine, I'll bring you to our base. I'm not sure if the others will like it, though."
"I don't care."
"Figures."
Autumn shook her head. "Our base isn't too far away. Just a few miles outside of Halifax." She smoothed out her jacket. "I gotta warn you, though."
"Warn us about what?"
"They don't take kindly to newcomers."
Sebastian scoffed. Of course they don't.
"That's comforting," Dorian said dryly.
Autumn made her way over to the door. "Come on then. Let's get moving."
Sebastian exchanged a wary glance with Imogen. They didn't speak, but the shared feeling of unease was loud and clear. Exhaling, he stood up and joined the hunter at the door. Faking a smile, he pushed it open and motioned toward the sidewalk with a flourish.
"After you."